Stoker



Sept. 13, 1932. R. HncHcocK STOKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25. 1951 In u Sept. 13, 1932. R. Hn-cHcocK STOKER Filed March 25. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITED .STATES PATENT .OFFICE BEUBEN HITCHCOCK,OF CLEVLAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 THE CLEVEIIJAND STOKEB COMPANY, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO STOKER Application led March 25, 1931. Serial No. 525,144.`

The automatic stoker comprising the present invention is primarily Vadapted for use in connection with domestic furnaces for household use, although the invention may be modified and adapted for use in connection with larger commercial furnaces.

Stoker mechanisms now upon the market, for general household use, are cumbersome and considerable difliculty is encountered in their installation. Where another household appliance, as, for example, a water heater or a boiler, is positioned in close proximity to the furnace door, such stokers, pro- 'ecting as they do from the furnace opening, are incapable of'being installed without removal and reinstallation of the obstructing appliance. Accordingly, it is ap object of the present invention to provide a compact and unitary stoker assembly that may readily be installed in a furnace opening and projected directly into the same, or which, in the event of any existing obstruction in front of the furnace opening, may Vconveniently be installed at an agle to the furnaceopening to avoid the obstructing i appliance without necessitating the removal and reinstallation` of the obstructing appliance. 4

Apart from the existing difficulties encountered in connection with nearby obstructions that tend to interfere with the installation of stokers, such stokers ordinarily require a considerable amount'of foundation or built-up structure within the furnace.

The greater the required amount of such interior construction in any particular installation, the greater will be the labor cost incident to the installation of the stoker. oAccordingly, an additional object ofthe present invention is to reduce the installation cost to 4 a minimum by having the ash-pit lining an ."integral part of the Stoker apparatus instead of briokwork which has to be built up in the furnace in 'making an installation.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide afcompact unitary stoker mechanism that may be easily installed in a furnace opening --without the necessity of employing skilled labor.

A still further object ofthe invention is 5 to provide astoker mechanism which is not.

expensive toma-nufa'cture. Convenience of arrangement of parts, durability, simplicity-l in construction are further f desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production' and development of this invention.

Other objects and features of novelty will y appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of that portion of the improved stoker mechanism which occupies a position, within the confines of the furnace walls, the upper portion of the furnace being broken away on a transverse horizontal sectional vplane to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately along the line 2-2 ofyFig. 1. 4 Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of that portion of the stoker mechanism which lies within the confines of the furnace, this view being a sectional view taken on a vertical plane through the furnace walls at one side of the device.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a semi-circular apron retaining ring element employed in connection with the present 1nvention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an adjust- 80 able apron employed in connection with the present invention, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

In all the above described views, like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout. a

The apparatus involves, in its general organization, a coal feed retort 10 in the forml of a casting having an inlet 11 to which a coal 90 Ifeed conduit 12. is connected below the grate .13. The coal feed retort 10 projects upwardlv through the grate for distributing coal onto the same. This retort 10 is provided with an opening 14.- in its upper end. .The walls of the retort are hollow and extending therethrough are a plurality of openings 15 arranged circumferentially around the same to discharge air from the chamber 16 over the grate 13 so as to burnthe fuel on the grate. 100

The air is introduced to the chamber through an air conduit 17 leading from a blower (not shown) which may be mounted on the end of this conduit 17. The feed conduit 12 has a feed screw 18 therein and communicates with a suitable hopper that is adapted for the storage of a supply of coal to be fed to the retort 10.

Projecting downwardly from the center of` the retort is a pin 19 upon which is pivoted a yoke 20. The yoke 20 is suspended upon the pin 19 for pivotal movement by means of a collar 21 resting upon the head of the pin 19. The yoke 2O is supported solely upon the collar 21'on the head of the pin 19. The grate 13 is made in two sections 23 and 24 which sections are of semi-circular shape and are of such width that, when properly positioned with respect to each other, a ring-like grate surrounding' the retort 10 is formed.

The sections of the grate rest upon horizontal face plates 25 formed on the upper ends of the yoke 20, to which they are secured by means of bolts 26 which extend through openings in the face plates 25 and in the grate. Pivotally connected to one of the arms of the yoke 2O is a link 35, which is connected to any suitable mechanism for reciprocating the same and thereby oscillating the grate.

Standards 27 are arranged on opposite sides of the retort 10, and are in the form of castings, each of which is provided with a recessed boss 28, medially of its ends. Extending into the bosses 28 and secured therein by means of set screws 29, are inwardly directed rods 30. rllhe inner ends of these rods 30 are secured in bosses 31. formed on the retort 10. The lower ends of the standards 27 are provided with bosses 33, through which extend adjusting bolts 34 for adjusting the height of the standards 27 to properly locate the retort 10. The upper ends of the standards 27 are provided with inwardly extending flanges 3G upon which are supported the semi-circular ring members 38 and 39. The ring members 38 and 39 have lugs 38 which are secured to the flanges 36 and are also supported, adjacent the front of the furnace, on a yoke 12 to which they are bolted. The yoke 12 is secured on the feed conduit 12 bv means of a .Ll-bolt 13. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the ends of the semi-circular ring members abut to form a closed ring structure spaced slightly from the oscillatable grate and surrounding the same. Each of the ring members 38 and 39 is provided with a pluralitv of pins 40, which are spaced apart and project outwardly. A pair of aprons 41 and 42. which mav be identical in construction. are provided with circumferentiallv extending slots 43 adapted to receive the pins 40. Bv virtue of these pin and slot connections the aprons 41 and 42 are circumferentiallv slidable upon the ring members 38 and 39, respectively. The upper edges of the aprons terminate flush remesa with the upper edges of the ring members 38 and 39 and extend downwardly to a point adjacent the foundation upon which t-he stoker mechanism is mounted. Clearance between the bottom ofthe aprons 41 and 42 and the Afoundation may be varied by adjustment of 4the legs 34 in the bosses 38. The front side of the retort 10 is supported by the conduit 12 which is supported at its outer end by means not shown. j.

ln the installation of the apparatus, the parts that go in the furnace are passed into the furnace and assembled and the conduit 12 is arranged to project straight out from the furnace or at any desired angle, depending upon the limitations of the available space. The laprons 4l and 42`are adjusted circumferentially of the rings 38 and 39 to suit the angular positioning of the coal feed mechanism, and wings 50, which are secured to the apron by rivets or screws 51, extend from either side of the furnace opening rearwardly to the forward edges of the adjusted aprons. These wings extend upwardly to a plane above the top of the furnace opening and a lintel plate 52 fits closely between the front furnace wall and the semi-circular ring members 38 and 39 and rests upon the upper edges of the wings 50. The space between the sides and rear walls of the furnace and the wings 50 and aprons 41 and 42 may be filled in with any suitable material, as for example, ashes, and thus the installation of fthe device is completed.

llhe invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification, as various changes are contemplated. in the details of construction thereof. Only in so far as the invention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described my invention, lf claim: A

1. ln a stoker mechanism for furnaces, a retort, means for supporting said retort, a grate surrounding said retort, a ring surrounding said grate supported by said means, and an apron secured to said ring and extending downwardly therefrom to a plane adjacent the floor of the furnace.

2. fn a stoker mechanism for furnaces, a retort, a plurality of standards, means for supporting said retort upon said standards, a grate surrounding said retort, a ring mounted on said standards and surrounding said grate, and a depending apron slidably mounted on said ring for limited circumferential movement therearound.

3. The combination with a furnace having an opening in one of the walls thereof, of a Stoker mechanism comprising a retort mounted within the contines of the furnace walls, a coal feeder communicating with said retort and extending through the furnace ferential adjustment vpivotally supported for oscillatory movement solely by said retort, a stationary ring surrounding said grate, and an apron slidably mounted for circumferential adjustment on said ring, a pairof walls extending from the edges of said apron forwardly to the edges of the furnace opening, and a lintel plate extending from said ring forwardly substantially to the inner plane of said furnace wall.'

5. A combination with a furnace having an opening in one of the Walls thereof, of a Stoker mechanism comprising a retort, means for supporting said retort Within the confines of the furnace Walls, a coal feeder communicating with said retort and extending through the furnace opening, a grate surrounding said retort, and a curved apron slidably mounted for circumferential movement about said grate and extending from a plane adjacent the top of the grate to a plane adjacent the furnace floor.

6. A stoker mechanism, for furnaces having an opening in one wall thereof, comprising a pair of standards, a retort supported on said standards, a grate surrounding said retort; a ring member surrounding said grate and supported on said standards, a plurality of radial pins onV said ring member, a pair of depending curved aprons, there being horizontal slots adjacent the upper edges of said aprons, said pins extending loosely 'through said slots to permit circumof said .aprons on said mg.

7 A stocker mechanism for furnaces having anopeningin one Wall thereof comprising a pair of standards, a retort supported on said standards, a -grate surrounding said retort, a ring member surrounding said grate and supported on said standards, a plurality of radialpins on said ring member, a pair of depending curved aprons, there being horizontal slots adjacent the upper edges of saidl aprons, said pins extending loosely through said slots to perm't circumferential adjustment of said aprons on said ring, and means for adjusting the height of said standards.

8. In combination with'a furnace having an opening in one of its walls, a stoker mechanism comprising a reto`rt arranged in the furnace, and a coal feeder (projecting through said opening and ,adapte to be arranged in whereby said apron is different angular positions about the axis of said retort, a grate surrounding said retort, a stationary support and an apron on said support and having an opening through which said feeder projects, said apron being adjustable circumferentially of said retort to position the last mentioned opening in alignment with said furnace opening.

9. In combination with a furnace having an opening in one of its walls, a stoker mechanism comprising a retort arranged in the furnace, and a coal said opening and adapted to be arranged in different angular positions about the axis of said retort, a grate surrounding said retort, a support fixed to said retort, and an apron carried by said support and having an opening through which said feeder projects, said apron being adjustable on said support circumferentially of said retort.

10. In combination with a furnace having an opening in one of its walls, a stoker mechanism comprising a retort arranged in the furnace, and a coal feeder projecting through said opening and adapted to be arranged in different angular positions about the axis of said retort, a grate surrounding said retort, a support fixed to said retort, an apron carried by said support through which said feeder projects, means adapted to be adjusted on said support circumferentially of said retort to align the last mentioned lopening with said furnace opening, Walls `enclosing the space between lsaid furnace opening and said apron opening, and the space between said apron and the sides of the furnacehaving a suitable filling material therein.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aifix my signature. f c v REUBEN HITCHCOCK.

feeder projecting through I and having an openingl 

